


Never Ending Math Equation

by cobras (trailer_trash)



Category: Bandom, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is...
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternating Perspective, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 12:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2731811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trailer_trash/pseuds/cobras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabe is in the library to help with math homework and tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday. William doesn't need help with geometry anymore, but he goes anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Ending Math Equation

**Author's Note:**

> Let's just say Gabe is only two or three years older than William instead of six to make this AU work. Also, I don't know if Gabe is good at math or if William is bad. I just kind of guessed.  
> I published this at 3 am. If you're reading this and it makes no sense just know I tried and I even proofread it. But I'll do it again tomorrow.

The first few times he showed up to the library for help with his homework, William was failing geometry. He couldn't be bothered to pay attention in class and while that didn't affect his grades freshman year, it really did send them into a downward spiral his sophomore. His geometry teacher was completely unhelpful and told him that the only way he'd be able to catch up was if he did it outside of class on his own. 

That was where he met Gabe. The librarian had pointed William out to him, saying, "Yes, Gabe over there can help you, go talk to him," before answering a phone call much more important than he. He'd first noticed that Gabe was tall and incredibly attractive; two very important traits he sought after in a crush. He also knew that Gabe was a senior, but that was all. 

Gabe had first said to him, "Yes, I can help you. What's your name?" To which William answered, 'William', even though everyone called him Bill. Gabe said, "It's nice to meet you, what do you need to work on?" The only answer William had was 'everything'.

Gabe told him that he was there every Tuesday and Thursday, but that William could come any day because there were always Junior & Senior tutors for every core subject. They sat at a table in the corner of the library, closed in by a short bookcase that was usually empty and quiet enough for Gabe's liking. William came every Tuesday and Thursday with the math homework he slowly began to understand as each week passed. 

He knew that he probably didn't need to go anymore around mid-November, and so did Gabe, but they never mentioned it. William looked forward to the thirty minutes-to-two-hours that he had with Gabe once or twice a week and he wouldn't know what to do if he stopped suddenly. They never talked outside of class though considered themselves friends in a vague context. Gabe talked about himself a lot; he told William that he was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and had a brother named Ricardo. He talked about his father and the band he was planning on starting after he graduated. He talked about his closest friends and where he wanted to go to college and his sexuality. He very rarely asked William about himself, but the sophomore found that he didn't care much, as he was slowly becoming infatuated with this boy who was so out of his league it was actually embarrassing.

* * *

 One day, Gabe had turned to William with a smug smirk on his face when the boy sat down and said, "I know you don't need help with geometry anymore. You're fuckin' great at it." 

William sighed, "I like coming here, though," he said defensively, "and we started a new unit today so I don't think I'll understand it."

"Math builds off of itself. Of course you'll understand it." Gabe was smiling, "Don't doubt your abilities, William. You're very smart and you know that."

"Why did you choose today to tell me this?" He asked. The boy couldn't help but feel like Gabe's accusation had come out of nowhere. They'd fallen into a motion where William would work through his homework while the other talked about whatever was on his mind and helped when he didn't understand something. 

Gabe shrugged, entirely content with not having an answer. "You're a weird kid, you know that? You never say hi to me in the halls, you never talk about yourself or anything.. just kind of weird."

"Wait, what? You see me in the halls?" The sophomore ran through all of his passing periods in his head. Sometimes he saw Gabe, but it was true that he never said hi. If anything, he completely avoided the other when he saw him, "I mean... you're, like, a senior, and I didn't think you'd even want me to talk to you."

"Dude, why not? I tell you all sorts of shit, we're definitely friends now." Gabe paused, thinking over what he was going to say, "It kind of makes sense now why I know literally nothing about you."

The younger boy looked back down at the proofs waiting to be finished instead of meeting Gabe's gaze, which was looking directly at him. "I don't know, I just thought..."

They dropped the subject quickly but something was different then. William realized that Gabe was just as human as he, and Gabe realized that William was definitely someone who he didn't want to lose. 

* * *

 For the next few weeks, Gabe asked lots of questions about William. They talked a lot more than usual, and the librarian took quite a few rounds to their corner to tell them to shut up and do what they were there for. 

William was definitely okay with answering whatever Gabe wanted to know, but he always felt terribly naive compared to the other, who was a semester away from graduating, compared to William's five. Their lives were so different; Gabe was exciting and had stories to tell, but William had trouble finding anything in his life that was comparably notable. 

They talked during their lunch period, which was the same, but Gabe's friends were too intimidating for William to think about sitting with even though he knew them as acquaintances. He did have his own friends, who constantly teased him about his "giant crush" on Gabe, even though he told them only a small fraction of their interaction. The only person who wasn't too keen on Gabe was Sisky, who thought his best friend was being stupid. "He gets into a lot of trouble, you know," Sisky would tell him, "from what I've heard." And William knew. He knew but he didn't care because Gabe had never been any less than great to him.

Eventually the senior started introducing William to other people as "his little baby" and William hated it. He hated being seen as inferior and younger than someone who he thought of as his equal, but Gabe thought his constant, offended reaction to it was hilarious. All of Gabe's friends called him 'Baby' and nothing else whenever they saw him and he grew used to it. Sometimes he wondered if most of them even knew his real name anymore.

* * *

 Soon it was winter break. Soon it was January and school had started again. They'd exchanged phone numbers and texted nearly every day over break, but it was nothing like when they were together in person. Gabe told William that he'd still be in the library that coming Thursday in case he was wondering.

William showed up first, incredibly stressed out and tired. He hadn't done anything he was supposed to during break and it was coming around to bite him in the ass. When Gabe took the seat next to him, he noticed but found too much comfort in burying his head in his arms and laying on the table to acknowledge the presence of his friend. 

"Yo, William, you still here?" Gabe asked, shaking his shoulder slightly in case he'd been sleeping. 

"No." The sophomore groaned, turning his head so he could see Gabe.

"What's up? You okay?"

"No." _  
_

Gabe frowned, "Does my little baby need a hug?" 

"Yes." William sat up and took in a deep breath. He knew if he said anything else, he'd probably cry and embarrass himself, so he just slumped into Gabe's arms. Gabe held him tightly and didn't let go, allowing William to calm down a bit. The boy buried his head into the senior's shoulder, every breath shaky but slowly returning to normal. 

When William let go of Gabe, he met his identical chocolate brown gaze helplessly. "I'm just having a bad day, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Everyone has them."

"It's just... like, everything sucks right now. Why can't I be a senior like you and graduate next semester?  I'm so done."

Gabe smiled but shook his head in disagreement, "The real world gets a lot scarier the closer you get to living in it," he stated soothingly, "you have two and a half more years to dick around and not have any responsibilities. That I'd kill for." 

"It's not going to be any fun without you."

"Can't argue with that!" He responded jokingly to no avail. All of his efforts to cheer William up that usually worked weren't fazing the boy. "Of course it will."

"But Gabe, I love you." William stated bluntly. His face turned red immediately at the straightforwardness of his words.

There was a hesitant silence between the two, a silence that meant either Gabe didn't know what to say, or William had crossed a line. It must have been the former, for Gabe cupped William's jaw with one hand and pulled the boy towards him with the other, connecting their lips gently. 

"You meant it that way, right?" Gabe asked when he pulled away, their faces only inches apart.

Eyes wide with shock and a grin spreading over his face, William nodded, "Yeah."  

"I love you too." 


End file.
